February 22, 2018

Our passage today comes in a series of teachings of Jesus. We have a super interesting passage to dig into today! It is the account of Lazarus and the rich man.

As you know from reading the passage, Lazarus was a poor man who was a beggar at the gate of the rich man. Now that both are dead, Lazarus is with Abraham and the rich man is in Hades. There are a few things that stand out:

Hell is real and is a torturous place. We see that the rich man is suffering in hell. Verse 24 says, “And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” The rich man wants to receive mercy now that he is in anguish while he was unwilling to show mercy while he was alive (v. 20-21).

We must decide our eternal destiny right now. The rich man tries to persuade Abraham to relieve him of pain. Abraham makes clear that there is no way that anything can change with their eternal destinies. For us, we must understand this truth and live in light of eternity!

We have all we need to receive eternal life. The rich man wants Abraham to go and warn his family about the judgment that was to come. Surely, if there was someone who rose from the dead, his family would listen and change their ways! Abraham, again, makes clear that all that is needed to know our need for God is the Law and the Prophets. Verse 31 says, “‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” This should encourage us, that the Gospel is all we need to bring people to Jesus.